Steam-trap.



No. 846,300. PATENTED MAR. 5, 1907.

W. GE'IPEL. STEAM TRAP.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 12I 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

wf wi 10.846,300.. PATENTED'MAR. 5, 1907. W GEIPEL STEAM TRAP.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY12, 1906.l

2 SHEETS-SHEET 21 UNITED STATBS WILLIAM GEIPEL, OF SOUTHWARK, ENGLAND.

STEAWMTRAF.

Speceaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Ivarch 5, 1907.

Application filed July l2, 1906. Serial llo. 325,859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Gnirnr., a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Southwark, in the county of London, England, have invented Improvements in or Relating to Steam-Traps, of which the following is aspecitication.

It is found in expansion steam-traps of the type described in my former patentl specilication, No. 560,491, dated May 19, 1896, and comprising two expansion-tubes rigidly fixed at one end to the trap Yfre-mie or body and free to move laterally at their other ends and which are connected together by a valvebody containing a valve controlling the passage of fluid from one tube to the other, that inasmuch as the valve is closed against the pressure of steam it is necessary to limit the area of the discharge-opening controlled by the valve 3 otherwise the force available for keeping it closed would be counterbalanced by the pressure of the steam acting over the area of the valve, and in any case in traps of the type referred to there is a periodnamely, just before the opening of the valve, when the expansion parts of the trap are partly contracted-when the force available to keep the valve closed is practically balanced by the pressure of steam upon the valve, and during this period there is a tendency for water or steam to leak past the valve.

When water or steam passes between two adjacent faces, such as those of the valve and its seat, there is a tendency to cutting cr wearing away of the metal faces, more especially in the case of steam-traps, which trequently have to discharge water containing sediment or impurities which may act upon the said faces either mechanically or chemically, or both.

In expansion steam-traps of a ditlerent type to that described in my said former specication the water-discharge valve has, in order to avoid the disadva tage above mentioned, been arranged on the inlet eine of the water-discharge opening, so as to open in an inward direction against the tluidressure within the trap, and has been. c c onnected from the means used for direcly openingv it, so that upon being opened to a suflicient extent to permit water to reak past it it will be immediately moved into iis fullyopen position by the wedgin@ action of the escaping water, and thus allow of free and rapid. discharge of water, and will afterward be moved into its closed position by the fluidpressure 'within the trap, aided, it may be, by a spring, when the expansion portion of the trap again expands upon the admission of steam thereto.

Heretofore there have been difficulties in the way of successfully applying such valves to expansion steam-traps of the type described in my said former specification and known as G-eipel steam-traps, and the present invention has reference to improvements in or relating to traps of this type, whereby valves arranged and operating in the manner above described can be successfully and advantageously.applied to such traps. For this purpose in place of the valve a ran gement described in my said prior speci- `cation, wherein the valve is arranged outside the water-discharge opening and is closed against the steam-pressure in the trap, the valve-case that connects the free ends ot the two expansion-tubes of the trap is so constructed and arranged in relation to the tubes and to the hand-lever provided for opening the valve by hand, when desired, that the valve will be located at the inner side of the water-discharge opening, so that it will be closed by the steam-pressure and will be opened against such pressure by the contraction of the expansion-tubes. In this arrangement it is necessary that the cont-raction of the expansion-tubes should move the valve-spindle against the hand-lever-that is to say, in an opposite direction to that in which it is moved by the expansion-tubes in the trap described in my said prior specification-for which reason the expansion-tube that serves as the inlet-tube is arranged at the top ot the trap and the other or outlettube at the bottom thereof, or, in other Words, that the inlet-tube shall be nearest the lever against which the valve abuts and the outlet-tubo farthest therefrom.

To prevent chattering action which is liable to be set up in the valve in the new IOO construction at the time when it is being i opened or closed and which would act to destroy the valve face and seat and also to prevent the vibration that is liable to be set up in the trap itself, owing partly to the chattering action of the valve and partly to the rapidity of the discharge through the large discharge-opening employed, and also to prevent the noise and consequent inconvenience caused by so rapid and forcible a discharge, means are provided for throttling the dis- IIO charge of water at a point between the valveopening and the outlet end of the dischargepipe. Such throttling means by reducing the velocity of discharge of water past the valve-seat, especially at high pressures, serves also to transfer wear, due to the issuing water, from the valve-seat to the throttling-point,where wear is oi' less consequence.

The throttling device employed is so constructed as to be automatic in action and to produce a Igreater throttling action at high pressure than at low pressure. For this purpose it may conveniently comprise a springcontrolled throttling-gate adapted. to be operated by the pressure of the water or steam after the same has passed the valve, the spring acting in such a way that at low pressure the gate will be maintained in a position to provide a maximum opening, so as to produce the minimum throttling effect, and at high pressures the gate will be moved into a position to reduce the opei'iing to its minimum size and produce the maximum throttling e'tlect. This automatic and variable throttling device may be arranged close or adjacent' to the valve or vit may be placed at a distance therefrom.

In the accompanying illustrative drawings, Figure l shows, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, a steam-trap of the Geipel type embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 shows in longitudinal vertical section the valve-case which connects the movable tree ends of the inlet and outlet expansion-tubes of the trap and is designed for use with a valve arranged to act in the manner hereinbefore described. Figs. 3 and 4 are sections of the valve-case` taken. on the lines A A and B B, respectively, of' Fig. 2. Fig. 5 shows the valve-case partly in end elevation and partly in cross-section en the line C C ol Fig. 2. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail sectional views showing modifications; and Fig. S is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, showing a modified construction of apparatus. Fig. 9 is a detail view.

In the construction shown in Figs. l. to 5, inclusive, a and l) are respectively the inlet and outlet expansion-tubes, rigidly tixed at one end to the trame or body c of' the trap, and d is the valve-case connecting the other or movable ends of the tubes, the arrangement being similar to that usually adopted in a Geipel steam-trap, except that the inlettube a, which is preferably made of' metal, such as brass, having a greater coetlicient of expansion than the metal, preferably iron, of which the outlet-tube I) is made, is arranged above the latter tube, so as to be nearest the top of the trap-frame e. e is a water-discharge passage formed by a valve-seat e, screwed through an opening in the wall d between the inlet and outlet chambers and g. The passage e is controlled by a valve 7L, which is located in the inlet-chamber and opens in a downward direction relatively to the valve-case (l, the stem i of the valve eX- tending through a stutling-box lc and bearing against the arnrm olf' the hand-lever m m', it may be, as shown, through an endwise-adjustable screw n, the said lever being pivoted, as heretofore, to the trap-trame e at o. The inlet and outlet chambers and g are connected, respectively, to the inlet and outlet pipes a and For this purpose the valvecase (Z is constructed, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, with a laterally-arranged d ownwardly-extending passage v7), whereby the upper inlet branch g is placed in communication with the lower inlet-chamber j', and with a laterally-arranged upwardlyextending passage 1", whereby the lower outlet branch s is placed in communication with the upper outlet-chainber g.

l/Vi th the arrangement described, when the inlet-tube a contracts, owing to its becoming filled with water, its free end portion, together with the valve-case d and the free end portion et the tube l), will move upwardly, with the result that the valve-seat e will leave the valve 7L, which will be prevented from rising with the valve-case by reason of its stem i bearing against the arm 'm of the hand-lever m m and permit water to pass between the valve and its seat to the discharge-passage e, whereupon the valve 7L, owing to the pressure or wedging action of the accumulated and escaping water on its face, will be suddenly opened to its 'lull eX- tent in a downward direction and allow of the rapid discharge of thewater from the inlet-pipe d through the outlet-pipe When the tube a rexpands by reason of the water having been discharged therefrom and replaced by steam, the tubes and valve-case will move in the opposite direction into their normal positions, and the valve will be caused by the rush of steam, aided, it may be, by a coiled spring p, to close against its seat e', upon which it will be held by the 'fluid-pressure in the trap until the expansion-tube a is again illed with water and contracts to a sutiieient extent to again cause the opening of the water-discharge passage e, whereupon the above-described operations will again take place.

To prevent undue friction between the packing in the stuffing-box lc and the valvestem i, acting to retard the opening of the valve 7L upon contraction of the tube a, such valve may be mounted loosely upon the inner end of the valve-stein, so that after being partly opened by the contraction of the tube a it can readily move inward into its fullyopen position independently ot the valvestem.

lith the new arrangement of trap hereinbetere described it will be seen that the spring adjustment of the hand-lever del scribed in my said former speciiication, the

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object of which is to prevent overstraining of the trap by excessive pressures, is no longer necessary, because when the valve 7L is closed by the steam-pressure the movable parts a, t, and d of the trap, together with the valve, are free to move downward without constraint, so that any excessive steam-pressure will not cause the said movable parts to strain the valve, as would be the case in my before-mentioned trap, if the spring adjustment were not provided. There is also the further difference between the new and the old arrangements of these steam-traps that in the new arrangement the arm m of the hand-lever against which the valve acts is depressed to open the valve by hand to allow oi' water and steam blowing through the trap instead of being raised, as in the old arrangement.

The arm m of the hand-lever m m may, ii" desired, rest against a iixed stop on the trapframe c to limit its downward movement. ln order, however, to utilize the upward movement oi' the tubes, due to contraction, to increase the extent oi opening oi the valve 7L it is prei/erred to cause one oi the said tubes, preferably tube a, to act against the arm m or the hand-lever through a rigid rod ma, resting on said tube, so that upward movement oi the tube will act to turn the lever on its fulcrum and push the valve 7L away from its seat e at the time when the seat is mov -g away from the valve, and thereby increase the extent of opening ior a given movement of the tubes.

Fig. 6 shows the throttling device as used in the example illustrated for the purpose of automatically7 throttling the discharge o water for the purposes here .nbelore mentioned. It comprises a ilanged tube t, that is arranged to slide in the bush el, Fig. L, in which the seat e and the discharge-passage e are formed, and is normally held against the outer end thereof by a spr'noi i, which is under compression and may conveniently he held in place in the outlet-chamber g by a fixed extension t2 therein. The force ol the sprinfT is such that normally and also when water is being` discharged at low pressure the throttling-tube twill be held in the fully-open. position shown, in which the annular out`etpassage u between it and the extension gis/oli its largest area; but when water is beiigdischarged at high pressures the increased fluid -friction acting against the fir-Lor parts of the throttling-tube will torce tl s tube outward against the action oi the spring t, so as to paitially close the outlet-passage u to greater or less extent, and so throttle the escaping water and prevent chattering of the valve, vibration of the trap, and production of undue noise when the trap is dischai ng. 'The throttling device also serves, by reducing the velocity of the water escaping past the valve-seat, to transier the wear which ordinarily takes place during discharge, especially at high pressures, from the valve-seat c to the sides ot the discharge-opening u, where wear is oi less consequence. The outer end ol the throttling-tube t, as shown in Fig.` G, is preferably notched or serrated or equivalently Vformed to prevent its ever completely closing the water-outlet opening under 'the greatest pressure to which the tube may be subjected, and there may be provided in connection with such throttling-tube a renewable stop c in the form ol a ring Jfixed to the extension t2, so that wear, due to the issuing water, can be readily compensated for. L some cases holes or passages t3 may be provided in the tubev t under the i'lange, as shown.

A throttling device acting as described instead of being arranged in the valve-case d majT be arranged in the outlet-tube l) or in a water-discharge tube co1 nected thereto and extending beyond the trap. Fig. 7 shows one arrangement oi this kind partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section. The thrott. g device comprises a cone-valve w, contro ALg a water-passage w in a wall or partition 102 in a valve-case w3, connecting two portionsv 104 and w of a water-discharge pipe, the winged stem w of the valve extending through the passage w and acting, through a plate w?, against a spring w8, that is held in position by a stationary perforated plate wg. The arrangement is such that for low pressures the valve will be held Jfully open, so as to exert the minimum throttling eil'ect; but for high pressures the valve will be partly closed against the action of the spring ws, so as to exert its maximum throttling eilect. It is, however, preferred to arrange the throttling device as in Figs. l and 2. 'Ihrottling devices constructed and operating as hereinbefore described can be used in expansion steam-traps of various kinds.

l. am aware that steam-traps have heretofore been iroiided with means for throttling the discharge ot water therefrom; but the throttling means employed have been such that there is no di'l'lerence in the throttling action whether the pressure be high or low, so that il" the throttling action is sullicient to prevent an undue discharge at high pressures then the discharge at low 'pressures has been too much throttled. 1

Instead of arranging the arm m o'l the hand-lever to be operated 4by the expansiontube a, as in Fig. l, or arranging it to bear against a '[ixed support, it may, as shown in Fig. l 8, be arranged to hear (it maybe through an adjustable screw a?) against one arm l oin alever l 2, pi'p'oted at 3, and the other arm 2 of which acts through a pin l against the diaphragm 6 (or ristonl of a controlling device comprising a casing 7, that is divided by the diaphragm into two chambers 8 and 9, the upper of whichviz., S-is adapted to be iplaced in communication by a pipe 1Q llO with the steam-pipe to which the tube a of the steam-trap is connected, so that the position of the arm m of the hand-lever m fm@ against which the stem 'i of the valve 7i. acts, will be automatically varied upon variation in the steam-pressure to which the trap is subjected, as in steanvtraps constructed according to British Letters Patent granted to me, No. 21,783 of 1897, the said arm m moving upwardly when the steam-pressure falls below the normal and downwardly when the steam-pressure rises above the normal.

The `valve 7L may sometimes, and as shown in Fig. 9, be adapted to be rotated in an intermittent manner by providing it in a known way with vanes L, against which the issuing water will act so as to turn the'ralve about its axis.

Vhat I claim isl. An expansion steam-trap et the type herein referred to, comfirising a 'frame or body, expansion-tubes rigidly fixed at one end to said frame or body and free to move laterally at their outer ends, a valve-case connecting the free ends of said tubes and hay ing inlet and outlet chanibers connected by a water-discharge passage, a valve controlling said discharge-passage, and an external abutment against which said valve can act through its spindle, said valve being arranged to onen in an inward direction against the fluid-pressure within the trap when the expansion parts of the trap contract, and to close .in an outward direction and to beheld closed by the said Fluid-pressure when the said parts again expand.

2. An expansion stean'i-trap of the type herein referred to comprising a frame or body, inlet and outlet expansion-tubes Yfixed at one end to said frame or body, aval'i'e-case fixed to the free ends of said tubes, haring inlet and outlet chambers that are connected respeeticly to the inlet and outlet tubes, and are directly connected together by a waterdischarge passage, a valve controlling said discharge-passage, and an external abutment against which said valve can act through its spindle, said abutment being carried by that part of the frame or body to which the inlet expansion-tube is nearest and toward which said tube mores when. it contracts, said valve being arranged to open in an inward direction against the fluid -pressure within the trap when the expansion parts of the trap contract, and to close in an outward direction and to be held closed by the said fluid-pressure when the said parts again expand,

3. An expansion steam-trap of the type herein referred to comprising a frame or body, an upper inlet expansion-tube and a lower outlet expansion-tube fixed to said frame or body, a valve-case fixed to the free ends of said tubes and having upper and lower chambers to the lower of which the inlet expansion-tube is connected and to the upper of which the outlet expansion-tube is connected, a water-discharge passage connecting said upper and lower chambers, a valve arranged in the lower chamber to control said discharge-passage and provided with a spindle extending to the exterior of said valve-case, and an external abutment against which said valve can act through its spindle, said valve being arranged to open in an inward direction against the fluid-pressure within the trap when the expansion parts of the trap contract, and to close in an outward direction and to be held closed by the said fluid-pressure when the said parts again expand.

4. An expansion steam-trap of the type herein referred to comprising a frame or body, an upper inlet expansion-tube and a lower outlet expansion-tube fixed to said `frame or body, a valve-case fixed to the free ends ot said tubes and having upper and lower chambers to the lower et which the inlet expansion-tube is connected and to the upper of which the outlet expansion-tube is connected, a water-discharge passage connecting said upper and lower chambers, a valve controlling said discharge-passage, said valve being arranged to open in an inward direction against the fluid-pressure within the trap when the expansion parts of the trap contract, and to close in an outward direction and to be held closed by the said fluidpressure when the said parts again expand, anl means for controlling and operating said valve.

5. An expansion steam-trap of the type herein referred to comprising a frame or body, an upper inlet expansion-tube' and a lower outlet expansion-tube fixed to said frame or body, a valve-case fixed to the free ends of said tubes and having upper and lower chambers to the lower of which the inlet ex} ansion-tube is connected and to the upper of which the outlet expansion-tube is connected, a water-discharge passage connecting said upper and lower chambers, a valve controlling said discharge-passage and arranged in the lower chamber of the valvecase so as to open in a downward and inward direction and to close in an upward and outward direction, and means for controlling and operating said valve.

6. In combination with an expansion steam-trap having a discharge-valve, an automatic throttlilng device arranged in the water discharge passage of said trap at the outer side of the water-discharge valve and capable of being moved to diflerent extents according to the pressure of." the escaping water, said throttling device being` adapted to oppose a yielding resistance to the waterpressure and to produce avariable throttling action according toits extent of movement.

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7. In combination with an expansion steam-trap, having a discharge-valve, an automatic throttling device arranged in the water-discharge passage of said trap at the outer side of' the water-discharge valve and in the path oi escaping water, and a spring that normally holds the said throttling device in its open position and permits the same to close the passage to a greater er less extent according to the pressure upon it oil the escaping water,

8. An expansion steam-trap of the type herein referred to comprising a frame or body, inlet and outlet expansion-tubes iixed at one end to said frame or body, a valvecase fixed to the free ends of said tubes and having inlet and outlet chambers that are connected respectively to the inlet and outlet tubes and are directly connected together by a water-discharge passage, a valve controlling said discharge-passage, said valve being arranged to open in an inward direction against the fluid-pressure within the trap when the expansion parts of the trap contract, and to close in an outward direction and to be held closed by the said tluidpressure when the said parts again expand, and an automatic throttling device arranged in the water-discharge passage oi said trap so as to be operated by the pressure oi escaping water after the same has passed the water-discharge valve of the trap, said throttling device being adapted to offer a variable throttling action according to the pressure of the escaping water.

9. An expansion steam-trap of the type herein referred to, comprising a frame or body, expansion-tubes rigidly 'fixed at one end to said trame or body and free to move laterally at their outer ends, a valve-case connecting the Jfree ends of' said tubes and having inlet and outlet chambers connected by a water-discharge passage, a valve controlling said water-discharge passage, means for operating and controlling said valve, and an automatic throttling device arranged at the exit side of said valve and whereby at low pressures a maximum opening for escaping water is produced, and at high pressures a minimum opening is produced.

10. An expansion steam-trap ol the type herein referred t0 comprising a frame or body, an upper expansion-tube and a lower outlet expansion-tube fixed to said frame or body, a valve-case fixed to the free ends ci said tubes and having upper and lower chambers to the lower of which the inlet expansion-tube is connected and to the upper oi' which the outlet expansion-tube is connected, a water-discharge passage connecting said upper and lower chambers, a valve controlling said water-discharge passage, means for operating and controlling said valve, and an automatic throttling device arranged at the exit side of said valve and whereby at low pressures a maximum opening Jfor escaping water is produced, and at high pressures a nininium opening is produced.

l1. An expansion stean'i-trap of the type herein referred to, comprising frame or 1body, expansion-tubes rigidly hxed at one end to said iframe or body and free to move laterally at their outer ends, a valve-case connecting the free ends of said tules and having inlet and outlet chamlcers connected ly a water-discharge passage, a valve controlling d discharge-passage, means for 0perating and controlling said valve, an automatic throttling-valve, and spring controlling said throttling-valve so that at low pressures a maxirr um cp ening for escaping water or steam will he produced, and at high pressures a minimum opening will be produced.

l2. An expansion steam-trap of the type herein referred to ccnrirising a traire or liody, inlet and outlet expansion-tut es fixed at one end to said trame or hody, a valvecasel tixed to the free ends of said tules and having inlet and outlet chaml: ers that are connected respectively to the inlet and outlet tubes and are directly connected together by a water-discharge passage, an inwardlyopening valve controlling said discharge-p assage, means lor operating and controlling said valve, an automatic throttling-valve, and a spring controlling said throttling-valve so that at low pressures a maximum opening for escaping water or steam will be produced, and at high pressures a minimum opening will be produced.

13. An expansion steam-trap et the type herein referred to comprising a 'frame or body, an upp er inlet exp ansion-tube and a lower outlet expansion-tube Vlixed to said iame or body, a valve-case 'fixed to the free ends oi' said tub es and having upper and lower chambers to the lower oi which the inlet exp ansion-tube is connected and to the upper oi which the outlet expansion-tube is connected, a water-discharge passage connecting said upper and lower chambers, a valve arranged in the lower chamber to control said discharge-passage and provided with a spindle extending to the exterior oin said valvecase, and an external abutment against which. saidvalve can aet through its spindle, said valve being arranged to open in an inward direction against the `liuid pressure within the trap when the expansion part-s of' the trap contract, and to close in an outward direction and to be held closed by the said Vfluid-pressure when the said parts again expand, said valve being also mounted to slide endwise upon its spindle so that upon being opened to a small extent y the contraction ot parts ci the trap it will be free to be quicl: moved into its 'fully-op en position by the issuing water independently oi the said spindle.

14. An expansion steam-trap oi the type IOS IIO

herein referred to eoinprising a lraine or body, an upper inlet expansion-tube and a lower outlet expansion-tube Ylixed to said traine or body, a valve-ease hxed to the free ends oi: said tubes and having upper and lower chambers to the lower oi which the inlet eX- pansion-tube is Connected. and to the upper of which the outlet expansion-tube is oonneeted, a water-discharge passage eonneeting said upper and lower chambers, a valve controlling said discharge-passage and provided with a spindle extending to the exterior of said valve-ease, arranged to open in an inward direetion against the iluid-pres sure within the trap when the expansion parts of the trap contract, and to Close in an outward direction and to be held elosed by the said. l'luid-pressure when the said. parts again expand, and. a lever mounted on the trap-frame and against one arin ei: which 'the said valve-spindle can hear when the trap contracts.

l5. An expansion steam-trap ol the type the tra a oontraet and to Close in an outvvard4 direction and. to be held Closed by the said Huid-pressure when the said parts again eX- pand., and a lever` mounted on the trapia'ine and against one arni o1Q whie i the said valve-Spindle can hear when the trap eentraets and the other arm of which has oonneeted to it a thrust-rod that hears against one of the expansion-tubes.

Signed at vLondon, England, this 29th day s of June, 1906.

herein referred to comprising airaine or body, an upper inlet expansion-tube and a lower outlet expansion-tube fixed to said frame or body, a valve-ease vlixed to the iree ends oi"v I lYlLLIAM GElPEL Wvitnesses:

DVJAMEsoN, l". L. RAND. 

